


Racial Imperative

by Lionheart39



Series: Baby Fever [1]
Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 03:43:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20284822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lionheart39/pseuds/Lionheart39
Summary: The Doctor wants a baby, but who does she choose to be the father.





	Racial Imperative

**Author's Note:**

> I've tried to stick to she when connected to 13th Doctor but used he for the other Doctors. Hope it isn't too confusing.

The yearning to be a mother is so strong, she wants a baby! She knows it is the biological imperative of her race. If everything had been different she would have returned to Gallifrey to select a mate. But now with Gallifrey destroyed she does not have that choice. She could travel back to when her home world was there, but in truth she can not think of any time lord who she would want to be her mate.

She has the whole of time and space to choose the father of her child from, there are so many great males out there. But at the back of her mind just one name keeps cropping up.

She discussed it with Rose once, “What made the perfect partner he had asked wanting to know what Rose wanted from him.”

“Well, love is important!” Rose had said.

“But what is love?” he had asked.

“Well there is the biological part, your heart races when you see them or you know you are going to see them. Your stomach aches when they are late. You know your heart will break if they were not there, you know there death will rip your heart to shreds.”

At the time he wondered if being a Time Lord negated that part of it but he did know losing Rose would do that to him.

“You turn into a spitting cat when you think they are interested in someone else!” She had added that part because he had spent part to the day reminiscing with Sarah Jane.

“But, I think the most important thing is trust! To truly love someone you need to trust them with your life.”

Who was the only man he had ever completely trusted? Who had torn his heart to shreds when he knew he was dead?

Who had he torn across a battle field desperately trying to find? Who had he held in his arms and cried over when he thought he had died, after he had rushed to face a monster to stop the Doctor from doing it. What was the human phrase ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’

They had argued, they had disagreed, he had even once been sickened by his friends actions. That one thing had almost parted them, but in the end he understood and he had forgiven him his human weakness. And once they had even kissed, just once when he had thought the Brigadier was going to die, when they both thought he was going to die, he had planted a kiss on the Brigadier's lips and the Brigadier had responded. Afterwards when he had survived, it had been awkward, they had passed looks but it could never be. A male/male sexual relationship was against the Brigadier's nature. That sort of relationship didn't offend him, but he never saw himself in one. So they had never taken their, what was that terrible word, Bromance to anything else. But the care, the love and the trust were there. If only she had met him in this incarnation, if her third self had been female then what might they have been.

But then there was the other big problem, the Brigadier's damnable sense of honour. Even when faced with divorce he had been too decent to start a relationship with Liz Shaw. The Doctor had watched them closely, he had seen how attracted they were to each other. Their love for each other made them both unhappy, because the Brigadier wouldn't cheat on his marriage; even though he knew that the marriage was clearly over. Then when he was free and able to commit to Liz, he found she was in a relationship. So even though it had broken his heart he had not pursued her. He had not fought a battle the Doctor knew he would have won. He had honourably walked away, leaving Liz unaware how much he had wanted her. So instead of spending decades together, these two, who had loved each other for almost 30 years, had only spent their last few years happily married. But death had not parted them for long. It had claimed one then the other within a few weeks, because one had not been able to survive without the other.

Thinking back now, who was the man she admired most? Who was the person she avoided, because if she did meet him she would not want to leave him? That had to tell her that he was the right choice.

Choosing when to approach the Brigadier had to be done carefully. It couldn't be before they knew each other because she didn't know enough about his early life to know what she might disrupt. The UNIT years held all kinds of risks. Meeting any of her former selves had to be avoided. Disrupting his relationship with Liz must not happen. Maybe the time when he had lost his memory while working as a teacher? She thought that over for a long while. But when did he decide to try to find Doris again? Doris had been the Brigadier's salvation, she had put him back together, he had grown to loved Doris so much. She couldn't risk robbing her friend of that peaceful and healing part of his life.

Even when Alistair was in love the Doctor knew that the Brigadier's love for him had been stronger then his love for his human partners. Even when he had loved Liz he had risked his life to save his friend, the Doctor. When married to Doris, happy and contented in his new life, word that the Doctor was back had made him come running.

He was the one, but when.... Then she remembered.

18th February 1976

Mike Yates had dashed into the lab, “Doctor, is the Brig here?”

Jo had done a sarcastic look under the work bench and grinned.

The Doctor had just looked up and said in a most exasperated voiced “Does it look like it Mike?”

Then they both had taken in Mike’s worried look.

John Benton had skidded into the room seconds later. “Sir, the sentries on the main gate report the Brig drove out in his MG twenty minutes ago. He was dressed in civies.”

“He can’t have done! We've got Sir John Sudbury and that big wig from Geneva due in twenty minutes!”

Jo gripped Mike’s arm, “Don't panic Mike, the Geneva big wig is my Uncle, I'll see to him.”

“Yes, but Sir John...” Mike started.

“Is one of Lethbridge-Stewart’s oldest friends. So there is not going to be any trouble. But him driving off when they are due is very much out of character.”

Jo suddenly looked worried, “You don't think anything has happened to his daughter, Kate do you?”

They all looked concerned, the Brig would drop everything if Kate needed him.

“Mike called the switchboard, then Carol Bell the Brigadier's adjutant!”

“No Doctor, there have been no private calls to or from his apartment. No calls at all to his office.”

The Doctor rubbed his chin, let’s go and see if there are any clues in his apartment.

John Benton had looked horrified at the thought of intruding in what was the Brigadier's private space.

As they got to the second floor they found the door to the Brigadier’s rooms unlocked. That worried them all, the Brig was verging on paranoid where security was involved. As far as his apartment was concerned no one ever got to go inside. Not even the UNIT cleaner. Jo expected it to be a tip, but it was neat and pristine. She couldn't imagine the Brig doing house work but he obviously did.

In the sitting room two things were glaringly obvious. One was the smashed tea cup against the fireplace with the half cup of tea splashed down the wall. The second was the envelope with the Decree Absolute, and solicitors letter informing him his wife was contesting his access to his daughter.

All four looked at each other.

“Oh dear, poor Brig. He doesn't deserve that!” Jo said.

Mike looked at the Doctor, “He won't do anything stupid will he?” Mike asked concerned.

Ordinarily the Doctor would have laughed the notion off. But this would be the third blow to Lethbridge-Stewart in a week.

They had lost fifteen men a few days ago, after one of the Masters last escapades. Soon after he had gone to see Liz only to return despondent, finally Lethbridge -Stewart had told him Liz was in a relationship. When the Doctor had suggested he still pursue her the man had snapped back, “I won't put her through that!”

At the Doctors taunt “Afraid you'll lose.”

He had replied “No Doctor, afraid I'll win, the other party will make trouble if I do. Liz doesn't need that sort of trouble.”

Later when the Doctor had met Patricia he knew what Lethbridge-Stewart had been worried about.

Despite frantic checking everywhere they could think of they never found the Brigadier that day. It had been 11.00 hours the next day when the Brigadier had turned up.

He had said nothing just going to his apartment. Getting changed into his uniform and spending the day catching up with the paperwork.

All four of them had eyed each other, no one daring to ask what they desperately wanted to know.

It was almost 2am the next morning, when the Doctor had taken a bottle of Brandy into the Brigadier's office, he found out.

The Brigadier had driven to Cromer, he had no idea why. He had somehow found himself hooked up with a rather beautiful lady and stayed the night with her.

The Doctor had frowned at him. “That's not your style Lethbridge -Stewart!” he had said.

The Brigadier had laughed, but seemed slightly confused himself. “The strange thing was Doctor, I felt I knew her and could trust her with my life. It's a pity she didn't want more then a one night stand, I think we could have had something special!”

“Oh well, Alistair you know what they say. Better to have loved and lost!”

Alistair smiled, “Well whatever she save me from myself!"

Remembering this event the Doctor smiled to herself she now knew this was a fix point in time, it was meant to happen and she knew where and when.


End file.
